Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) Reaches New 52-Week Low – What’s Next?

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. (NYSE:TDS)’s share price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $30.71 and last traded at $33.07, with a volume of 2,253,243 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $34.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Zacks Research cut shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Telephone and Data Systems from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Telephone and Data Systems from $50.00 to $47.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Telephone and Data Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.50.

Telephone and Data Systems Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 3.81 and a current ratio of 3.82. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.30 and a beta of 0.32.

Telephone and Data Systems (NYSE:TDS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 7th. The Wireless communications provider reported $2.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $2.15. The business had revenue of $309.28 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.78 million. Telephone and Data Systems had a net margin of 33.20% and a return on equity of 11.97%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.05) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. will post -0.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Telephone and Data Systems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.04 dividend. This represents a $0.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Telephone and Data Systems’s payout ratio is currently 5.33%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Telephone and Data Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Telephone and Data Systems by 1.4% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,482,147 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $272,898,000 after purchasing an additional 90,097 shares in the last quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. Carronade Capital Management LP now owns 4,623,934 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $194,668,000 after buying an additional 420,340 shares during the last quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Telephone and Data Systems by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Oaktree Capital Management LP now owns 4,292,243 shares of the Wireless communications provider’s stock valued at $180,703,000 after buying an additional 603,857 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the second quarter valued at $31,096,000. Finally, Rokos Capital Management LLP bought a new position in shares of Telephone and Data Systems in the first quarter valued at $21,040,000. 80.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Telephone and Data Systems

Telephone and Data Systems, Inc (NYSE:TDS) is a telecommunications holding company that provides broadband and communications services in communities across the United States. Its principal operating business is TDS Telecom, which serves residential, business and wholesale customers with internet access, fiber-optic and other broadband connections, voice services, video entertainment and related communications solutions.

TDS Telecom focuses on expanding high-speed broadband availability in rural and suburban markets.